Rode PodMic Review: USB vs XLR Input - Your Ultimate Audio Quality Guide

Aug 7

I often get asked, “What’s the difference between USB microphones and XLR microphones?” And my topline answer is always the quality of an XLR input will deliver a better audio result. I have been working in the audio industry for 15 years, and have a Bachelors Degree in Audio Production so for me the love of XLR microphones runs deep.

But I wanted to know whether USB could be “good enough” as a solution for podcasters that want to forego some of the expense of a new podcast setup and provide a professional product to their audiences.

In comes the new Rode Podmic USB XLR microphone. This is a microphone that I’ve been eager to try since its release, and it felt like the perfect companion to explore my thoughts on the subject.

A note before I get going, this microphone was not gifted. I purchased this microphone myself to conduct this test. The provided links are Amazon affiliate links, and any purchases made through them support my show. Despite this affiliation, the review was conducted with the sole aim of benefiting my listeners and was not driven by affiliate marketing.

Testing Methodology

In my pursuit to test the microphone thoroughly, I recorded the same passage from the book "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse" under various setups. These included:

XLR input with and without a pop filter

USB input with and without a pop filter

USB input connecting the microphone directly to an iPad using the cable that comes with the microphone in the box

USB input connecting the microphone directly to an iPhone 14 Pro using the RØDE SC19 cable.

I found it to be an important part of the test to see how the USB faired using an IPad or iPhone, as this could make the barrier to entry for podcasting even lower and also ensure that podcasters (and influencers) could deliver high-quality audio for their “live” chats on socials also.

The Rode PodMic USB XLR Edition

I found the Rode PodMic USB XLR edition to be a superb upgrade to the original XLR-only PodMic. With the added USB option, it has become more versatile and is an excellent choice for podcasters starting with a USB setup and considering an upgrade to XLR in the future.

Results

Interestingly, the audio quality across each setup was strikingly similar. While there were minor differences, such as slightly higher frequencies present in the iPhone or iPad recordings, these nuances did not overshadow the overall excellent sound quality. I ensured that the levels were adjusted to achieve a similar sound across all the recordings and I performed no post-production. No EQ or compression was applied. What you hear is exactly as it came out of the microphone.

Software

To further optimize your setup, you can also download the RØDE Central app, which allows you to perform some processing

Why Recommend the Rode PodMic USB XLR?

I was so impressed with the Rode PodMic's performance and sound quality, even in the USB setup, that it has become my new favourite microphone to recommend to our podcasting clients looking for a minimal setup. I also appreciate the affordability of the microphone and it’s perfect when paired with the Rode PSA1 + boom arm.

A Competitive Edge

The Rode PodMic USB XLR edition not only stands out as an excellent device in its own right, but it also goes head-to-head with the popular Shure MV7 microphone. With its superior sound quality and affordability, I am happy to be able to recommend this microphone to all podcasters!

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Welcome back to my face. My name is Brianna and I'm the head honcho here at Bamby Media. Today I'm doing something a little bit different. I am going to be reviewing the Rode PodMic USB XLR edition. So they do have a version of the Rode PodMic that they've had for quite a while, which we have as well, which is just XLR only.
[00:00:20] But Rode has recently come out with a version that has both USB input as well as XLR. I was keen to review this because we recommend microphones to our clients and others all the time. And so for me to get something from Rode, which is a brand that I really know and respect that has a USB option as well as an XLR, it does potentially create a situation where you can have the USB to begin with.
[00:00:48] And then upgrade to the XLR input if you want without having to buy a separate microphone. so what I've done is I've recorded a bunch of different tests for you. I've recorded a passage from this book only, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. So the same passage from this book. Uh, it's a great, great book by the way. So we've got the XLR input with no pop filter. We've got the XLR input with the pop filter. And we've got the USB input with the pop filter and without. I've also done a USB straight into the iPad using the lead that comes with the actual pod mic in the box. And then I've also done the Rode PodMic USB straight into my iPhone 14 Pro. That requires a separate cable in my case.
[00:01:40] I used the RØDE SC19 cable at the 1. 5 meter length, but there's also another cable that you can get for it as well. And you will need to download the RØDE Central app in order to get that kind of set up and working well. You can put some extra processing on that using the RØDE Central app as well. Just for the use [00:02:00] cases that you may want, right? You may want it to be like, I have it here in a full on set up, set up with all the lights and all the fancy things, or you may want to just plug it straight into your phone or your iPad. You may not even want video. You may just want to do it that way.
[00:02:14] I wanted to see whether this could be the most versatile microphone for a podcaster. What I'm going to do is I'm going to play you now all the different things, and then you can see whether you can tell the difference. The result may surprise you.
[00:02:31] XLR input no pop filter. Do you have a favourite saying? Asked the boy. Yes, said the mole. What is it? If at first you don't succeed, have some cake. I see. Does it work? Every time.
[00:02:54] Plugging the USB into the Satechi hub that then plugs into my Mac computer. Do you have a favorite saying? Asked the boy. Yes, said the
[00:03:12] mole. What is it? If at first you don't succeed, have some cake.
[00:03:21] I see. Does it work? Every time.
[00:03:27] USB input with pop filter Do you have a favorite saying? asked the boy. Yes, said the mole. What is it? If at first you don't succeed, have some cake. I see. Does it work? Every time.
[00:03:51] XLR input with pop filter. Do you have a favorite saying? Ask [00:04:00] the boy. Yes, said the mole. What is it? If at first you don't succeed, have some cake. I see. Does it work? Every time.
[00:04:17] USB into iPad with the cable that came in the box. Do you have a favorite saying? Asked the boy. Yes, said the mole. What is it? If at first you don't succeed, have some cake. I see. Does it work? Every time.
[00:04:45] USB into the iPhone 14 pro using the SC19 cable from Rode. Do you have a favorite saying? Asked the boy. Yes, said the mole. What is it? If at first you don't succeed, have some cake. I see. Does it work? Every time. Okay, what did you think of that? Basically, it sounds very similar. it's going to make it so easy for you and a lot cheaper to just use the USB, not even needing the XLR.
[00:05:33] And you can feed that through anything that I've showed you, whether you want it straight into your computer, using a hub, whether you want to use the iPad, whether you want to use the phone, you could use just the cable or the SC19, as I said, just going straight through to the phone.
[00:05:48] and that's it. That's all you would need. And you can hear that the sound is very good. if your ears are a little bit more attuned to sound, you may have heard that when there was [00:06:00] the iPhone or the iPad, especially there was a little bit more of a higher pitch kind of.
[00:06:06] It picks out more of the ts, ts, ts, ts, ts sort of sounds, but you didn't hear that so much in the XLR sound. In the XLR, it sounded a little bit warmer and the USB straight into the Mac also had a little bit of the ts, ts, ts, but not enough for it to be a huge deal. all of the levels had been leveled, so that they were all kind of a similar sound.
[00:06:31] I will say that Some of them had to be boosted more than others. So for example, the XLR had to be turned up higher than the USB one straight into the computer. So the USB was like a, a, a stronger signal. Whereas the XLR, which is going through my Focusrite Claret, that needed more boosting in my, uh, DAW or in the sort of, system where you're actually editing. but the difference is quite negligible This is probably now, I'm going to say it, my new favorite microphone to recommend for podcasters. And I would suggest this, as you can see here. I've got this on a Rode PS1A Plus boom arm. You can get different boom arms as well. The reason I like this particular boom arm is because it's very quiet on movement.
[00:07:26] So, this microphone is really affordable. I'm going to put all the links to everything that I spoke about today in the descriptions below.
[00:07:34] If you do use any of these links, please know that these are Amazon affiliate links. We're affiliated with Amazon. I didn't choose to review this just because I wanted affiliates. I really just wanted to review this microphone for myself, for my use to then show our clients. And this video will be shown to our clients as well.
[00:07:52] For anyone that's interested in you, a new microphone setup, then just go and get this microphone. I'd like to. I want to thank Rode [00:08:00] for actually releasing this microphone. I think you've done an incredible thing here by doing this. This definitely competes with the Shure MV7. I used to recommend the MV7 for the same purpose, but this microphone, to me, Sounds nicer than the Shure MV7 as well.
[00:08:17] And I also like that Rode is an Australian company. If you're loving this kind of video and you're getting value, please hit the like button, subscribe to the channel. I will do more of these if you're interested in them, you can put me in the comments.
[00:08:28] If this is the kind of thing that floats your boat and you want me to review more things, I love it. It's very cool. So thanks for being with me today, and I hope you have a lovely day.